Hull book Wembley date

Hull FC will face St Helens in the Challenge Cup final after running out 32-24 winners in an entertaining semi-final clash against Wakefield Wildcats in Doncaster.

The Keepmoat Stadium was rocking at kick-off and the packed crowd were treated to an enthralling ding-dong battle of immense intensity despite the scorching heat at pitchside.

A lightning start effectively sealed the match for Hull as they went 18-0 up after just ten minutes and, despite the Wildcats clawing back into it again and again, Hull held out to eventually book their place at Wembley.

Although it ended up with five tries apiece, kicking proved the difference in the end with Danny Tickle providing perfection by kicking six out of six, while Danny Brough only managed two from five.

After marching into an 18-0 lead after just ten minutes, Hull saw Wakefield produced a splendid fightback to end the half just four points behind after eight tries in an incident-packed first 40 minutes.

Tries

Danny Tickle scored two identical tries before Graeme Horne went over, but Matt Petersen and Damien Blanch, with the first of his two tries, hit back for the Wildcats.

Peter Cusack added a try for Hull, but Tevita Leo-Latu and Ryan Atkins went over for Wakefield, while in the second half they swapped tries through Blanch's second and Danny Washbrook for Hull.

The boot was vital for both teams, with kicks playing a part in the majority of the tries scored, while Tickle's perfect count of six from six attempts proved a big difference as Danny Brough made just two from five.

Hull started off like a train and they had soon raced into an 18-0 lead that stunned Wakefield with three quick converted tries, firstly from Tickle who collected the ball after Gareth Raynor had challenged Peterson for a high ball to touch down.

It was deja-vu on eight minutes when Raynor this time knocked the ball down deliberately for Tickle from another high kick - before Horne danced down the right wing on ten minutes to score after strong work from Washbrook.

A shell-shocked Wakefield got a lifeline just three minutes later when Atkins' brute strength saw him hold off four Hull defenders and still manage the offload to unmarked Petersen to score easily.

John Kear's men then got back into the match when they took their turn to utilise the high ball as Blanch produced a prestigious leap to catch Danny Brough's kick and get his arm down skilfully to make it 18-10.

Fightback

Hull's 14-point advantage was restored just before the end of a frantic half-hour, as Cusack grabbed his first try for the club by bounding over after the Wildcats had given away another penalty - a big problem for them throughout the match.

Wakefield were not done just yet though and they showed their character as Leo-Latu rounded off a good team try before Atkins caught yet another fumbled high ball to make it two tries in five minutes and ensure they went in at half time just 24-20 behind.

Hull started second half as they had the first as they scored an early try through Washbrook, who came steaming onto Adam Dykes' low kick through the Wildcats defence.

Wakefield had already shown they would not lay down though, and once more in an enthralling nip-and-tuck battle they hit back with Brad Drew lobbing a perfect kick out to the right wing for Blanch to walk in for his second try.

It stayed at just 30-24 though as Brough missed a third kick, a statistic that looked like it could prove the difference, especially as Tickle then made his sixth kick with a penalty for 32-24.

Both teams showed creditable defence despite the searing heat to slow down the scoring, but Hull needed the video referee Ashley Klein to rule no try when Blanch looked to have completed his hat-trick with just ten minutes left when sneaking in at the corner, but was ruled to have just been inches into touch.

Hull saw out the remainder of the time to book a return to the final and a clash with St Helens at Wembley at the end of August.